A Milwaukee man, Justin Powell, has been charged with felony counts of vehicle theft and other crimes after allegedly stealing a Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk from a hotel parking lot in the airport area. The vehicle, which belongs to Florida resident Frank Tragesser, was stolen in early May. Tragesser had parked his car at the hotel while visiting his fiancée in Milwaukee. Powell later posted a photo of the vehicle’s wheel on his Instagram account, boasting that it was a “trophy” for him.
According to police, Powell used a key programmer to gain access to the vehicle. Key programmers are devices that can be used to reprogram car keys, allowing thieves to unlock and start vehicles without the owner’s permission. In this case, police found two key programmers and over 15 key fobs, including one that was programmed to work with Tragesser’s Jeep, at Powell’s girlfriend’s condo.
Powell has denied any involvement in the theft, despite evidence to the contrary. He claimed that he was not the owner of the Instagram account that posted the photo of the vehicle and that he was not involved in any car theft ring. However, prosecutors allege that Powell is the “middleman” of an alleged robbery crew, responsible for sharing locations of sought-after vehicles and facilitating the sale of stolen cars between thieves and potential buyers.
The theft of Tragesser’s Jeep is just one example of a growing trend of car thefts in Milwaukee. Police have reported 19 car thefts involving key fob programmers in the first three months of the year, with Nissan being the second-most stolen vehicle in the city. The high-tech method of stealing cars involves breaking a window, plugging a key programmer into the car’s on-board diagnostic port, and programming a new key to the car.
Tragesser is still waiting for his vehicle to be returned and repaired, and he has had difficulty dealing with his insurance company. He described the experience as “an awful situation all in all.” The investigation into the car theft ring is ongoing, and prosecutors expect to file more charges in the future.